


Coffee Left on the Counter

by StripesnBooks



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Coffee Shops, Depression, Drug Use, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Self-Harm, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-29 20:31:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10861542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StripesnBooks/pseuds/StripesnBooks
Summary: A drawn out Terezi/Karkat  angst-fluff. warning, graphic descriptions of violence, self harm, drug use, and depression.





	1. Tension at the Coffeeshop

Karkat slammed the coffee down on the table.  
“But I didn’t order yet!” Eridan protested.  
“YOU ORDER THE SAME THING EVERY TIME. WHY SHOULD I WASTE TIME ASKING?” Karkat suddenly clammed up and looked around the shop. The other customers stared openly, but the day shift manager wasn’t there. He sighed with relief. If he was caught yelling at the shop again he could get in trouble. “Eridan, I told you not to come bother me with your problems during work hours.”  
“I know,” Eridan pouted, “But I’m so lonely now that you have a job and Vriska doesn’t respond to my online challenges anymore and Feferi never wants to talk…”  
“You know who loves online games? Nepeta and John. Go play your dumb games with them, I’m working.” Karkat glared at Eridan before moving on to the next customer. “Welcome to Black Daisy. What would you like sir?”  
Dave turned away from the window to answer. “I’ll have the grimdark latte.”  
“WHAT THE HELL DAVE. Your shift starts in like ten minutes! You don’t have time to drink lattes like these weirdos that this place attracts!”  
“Whoa Karkitty, calm down. If Terezi hears you she’ll give you less time in the back. Why don’t you just get me my coffee? Even if I’m late to work that just gives you an edge on the employee of the month competition.” Dave smirked.  
“FOR THE LAST TIME I don’t CARE that you won employee of the month for a couple months or whatever—“  
“Four months.”  
“I DON’T CARE. I DON’T CARE. I DON’T CARE.”  
“You’ll scare away the customers Karkitty.”  
“WHY THE HELL DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME THAT.”  
“Karkat.”  
He spun around to find Terezi smiling at him, the kind of smile he recognized as the one when she’s winning and someone else is losing. “Uh…”  
“I told you,” she said, “not to yell in here. It frightens away the customers. Hee hee hee.” She moved uncomfortably close, and Karkat started sweating. He knew what was coming. “You smell like coffee beans. Maybe you should get out of the back and wait on customers some more.” Her grin never dropped for a second. She was kind of creepy. A reason that she stayed in the back and didn’t work with the customers, at least as far as the owner was concerned. But Terezi liked to mess around, and would often just stand at the register with her large smile, making the customers uncomfortable.  
Karkat slammed the notepad down on the table in front of Dave. “Your shift,” he said through gritted teeth, “has just started. I get to go in the back now.” He turned away and strode off through the employee door. Terezi slipped his notepad into her pocket, and she and Dave shared a grin.  
“What if Karkitty gets so upset that he quits?” Dave asked as he slowly stood up and walked Terezi back to the employee area.  
“He can handle this. He’s not the type to quit.”

Karkat changed out of his uniform and put on the apron, and joined Kanaya at the brewing station.  
“I can hear your yelling all the way back in the bean room,” were Kanaya’s first words to her friend. “Terezi came in a few minutes ago, did you get caught?”  
“Yeah… Dave’s doing it on purpose! If we ever get in a real fight he’d better-“  
“Not a battle I’d like to see. Do you have any idea why Dave keeps picking on you? Because it’s easy to get you riled up. And Dave always keeps his cool. Another reason why he keeps getting employee of the month: He never loses it or makes the customers uncomfortable.”  
“I don’t care who gets employee of the month!”  
“No, you don’t. You don’t have any motivation to care about it. Honestly, I’m not too sure why you wanted to work here.”  
Karkat was sullen, and he worked the machines efficiently but mechanically. Kanaya decided that he didn’t want to talk about it and let him do his work. After a few minutes he eased up and his motions became more fluid. He didn’t know it, but he knew the coffee better than anyone, and Terezi’s threats to make him wait tables were mostly hollow.  
The coffeeshop itself catered to a lot of strange people, who liked to dress dark and enjoyed the black fantasy theme. It also attracted their friends, and often the group could be seen coming and going. Tavros and Gamzee could often be found in a dark corner. Karkat had learned to avoid dark corners. Gamzee was his friend, but he had no interest in what he did with his romantic life, as long as he was happy and healthy and avoided the details. There was a backroom where customers could take their drinks and play any number of tabletop or card games. John, Jade, and Nepeta enjoyed those when they came by, and Terezi would destroy anyone who dared challenge her when she got off work. Nepeta was nightshift manager, and Equius would often drop by to order a surprise and always ask for milk added, no matter what he got.  
Karkat hung up his apron when the shift was done and decided to buy a scone before heading back to his apartment.  
“Hey! Bro!” He turned around to see Gamzee and Tavros. Gamzee gave him a hug. “Hey! Can I come chill at your place for a bit?”  
“Tavros too?” Karkat asked. He’d rather not invite them over just so they could make out.  
“No, uh, I actually have a job interview.” Tavros said apologetically.  
“It’ll just be me man. I’ll even bring the goodies, if you’re willing to stop by my place.” Karkat nodded.  
“I’ll be going then,” Tavros said with a small smile.  
“See you tomorrow?” Gamzee asked, to which his boyfriend nodded.  
“Let’s go then. Come on Gamzee. See ya Tavros.”

Gamzee’s house was big. He came from a well off family, and his dad was usually gone. When the Makara head of the house was home, Gamzee asked to stay with a friend. He would never complain, or say anything about what happened between him and his father, and Karkat had long since stopped asking. They pulled up near the house, and sure enough there was an extra car there. But Karkat said nothing, except “Do you want me to go in with you?”  
“Nah, it’ll only take a second.”  
Karkat waited nervously in the car. If it took too long, he’d go in after his friend. But Gamzee was out again quickly.

Gamzee was by no means a bad cook. He was almost a rival for Jane. Karkat ate the pie with a spoon while watching his (not a) chick flick. Most of the movies he owned were presents from John and Jake, who both had a habit of buying special edition DVDs and giving the old ones to Karkat, who was one of the few that appreciated both their tastes. Gamzee had stayed up through Avatar and half of Failure to Launch, but had gone to sleep on the couch after that. Karkat typed away at his computer, updating Black Daisy’s website. It was still a bit simplistic, but he was not the programmer Sollux was. Thankfully, his friend had loaned him some books, and halfway through high school Karkat had transitioned from a terrible programmer to a decent one. Sollux had offered multiple times to help out with the website, but Karkat insisted on doing it himself unless something went horribly wrong. Gamzee was completely passed out, so his friend threw a blanket at him. It missed, and Karkat glared as if it were the blanket’s fault. He picked it up and placed it properly before going into the bedroom, taking the laptop with him. He hadn’t bought a proper computer yet, and trying to take the one at his parent’s house had ended badly. The owner had invented a new font and Karkat was attempting to employ its use on the title page, with some amount of luck.  
Someone contacted him on pesterchum. He opened the chat log.

Terezi: hey  
Karkat: what  
Terezi: why do you keep yelling? You could lose your job.  
Karkat: I won’t. And usually I’m fine, I just think Dave has it in for me.  
Terezi: no, but you could try.  
Karkat: try what?  
Terezi: Actually competing with him.  
Terezi: for employee of the month.  
Karkat: No. I don’t care.  
He saved his files and closed the laptop.

He opened the laptop. Terezi had long since logged off. But…

Terezi: I don’t like to see you getting picked on by anyone but me.

It was almost flirting.


	2. A Poor motivational Coach

The shop wasn’t open yet, but when Karkat went in he was treated to a huge disturbing grin.  
“Good,” Terezi said, “The players are here.”  
“No, I’m not really interested in playing Munchkin again,” Karkat replied, backing up.  
“No, we’re going to talk about the competition.” Terezi led him to the employee area, where Dave, Kanaya, and Vriska were already lounging about. When Dave had arrived, Vriska was taking up the whole of the only couch, so he had kicked her off. Terezi had gotten them to simmer down through threats to their paychecks. By now everyone seemed fine, so Terezi turned to face them.  
“Employee of the month gets free treats every week, starting next month,” She announced with a smile, “approved by the boss. I mentioned to her that our employees might need some incentive, and this is what we came up with.” She threw a glance at Karkat.  
“How is employee of the month even decided?” Vriska asked. She was new, hired only a week ago, and worked mainly at the register or in the bakery.  
“It’s decided by who I think does the best job and makes Black Daisy look good to our customers.” Terezi stuck her hands in her pockets. “Well, I’m not eligible for the award, so I don’t even have to try. Also people seem to like my smile.” She grinned widely.

Karkat wasn’t really trying. He did make an effort not to yell. He didn’t complain as much. But he wasn’t really trying to beat Dave in the employee of the month competition that Terezi had worked so hard to make appealing. Dave came over to her and held out a cherry soda.  
“Sometimes people just don’t have a clue,” he said as he drank his own coffee.  
Terezi twisted the bottle cap off.  
“What are you going to do if he doesn’t notice?” Dave glanced at her.  
“If he doesn’t make a move he doesn’t make a move. I won’t keep waiting forever.” She downed her bottle.  
Terezi and Dave sat there as Kanaya set about closing shop.  
“Terezi. Wanna come over to my place and help me brainstorm some stupid comics?”

Terezi waited throughout the day. She just kept watch from afar, specifically avoiding both Dave and Karkat. All she could think about was the night before.  
Dave had invited her over, and they had spent hours messing around with comics, videogames, the weird stuff laying around his house… and nothing more. However, his intentions were obvious. And she had had a great time. There was no reason to turn him down… no reason except Karkat. They had been friends for years, and he had to know she was interested in him. But he had done nothing. She caught Gamzee and Tavros heading to a table. She waited until their orders had been taken and delivered by Vriska before sitting down next to them.  
“Hey Gamzee, Tavros,” she said, crossing her arms on the table. She tried to keep up her signature smile, but it just didn’t feel right.  
“Hey Terezi,” Gamzee greeted with a genuine smile.  
“H-hi,” Tavros said. He was still a bit nervous around her, but Gamzee had reassured him that she was cool.  
These two were the most naïve and adorable couple Terezi had ever seen. “Hey Gamzee,” she asked, “how did you and…” she let her head fall into her hands. “Never mind…”  
“Something’s troubling you, bro,” Gamzee said, taking his arm away from around Tavros.  
“Yeah… just…”  
“Is it Karkat?”  
“Am I that obvious?”  
“No, but sometimes I stay at Kar’s place and his laptop doesn’t have a password.” He smiled contentedly, with no animosity. “You can’t wait for him forever, man. Sometimes you gotta take a chance.” He put his arm back around his date, who felt a bit awkward but smiled.  
“uh, I don’t think… I don’t think I ever would have had someone like Gamzee until he outright asked me…” Tavros looked like he might get in trouble for speaking up, but his boyfriend just pulled him closer.  
“One of the best things I’ve ever done,” Gamzee said.  
Terezi nodded at them. “Well, thanks you two.”

It was Karkat’s turn to close up the shop. Terezi stepped out as he locked up the bean room.  
“Karkat, I need to, um, tell you something,” Terezi said as she stepped out.  
“Oh, what NOW,” he said as he turned around. “The employee of the month rewards don’t start for a couple more days, right?” Terezi was becoming less and less sure. “I mean, I guess I’ll try since I probably buy just as much from this place as any other regular, but just because the scones are so good.” Would it even make a difference, she wondered? “But really I—“  
Terezi grabbed his shirt front and pulled him a few inches down to her eye level. He braced himself to be hit or lectured.  
He was surprised when he was kissed.  
He was so surprised that he didn’t kiss back.  
Terezi let him go. “Later loser,” she said. She turned around and left.  
She didn’t smile.  
Karkat really did feel like a loser.

“I’m such a LOSER.” Karkat lay on the floor, moaning. Gamzee handed him a faygo, and Karkat ignored it. For someone with such good cooking skills, he had lousy taste in soda. “I mean, she KISSED me. I should have KISSED HER BACK. GOD I’M STUPID.”  
“Can’t win ‘em all bro,” Gamzee said as he downed his own soda. “Why not just talk to her?”  
“If you did something like that to Tavros, would you just talk to him?”  
“Yeah, man. Because I love him. I wouldn’t want him to feel bad just because I was surprised or something.”  
“UUUUUUUGGGGHHH.”

It was a few days later. Karkat hadn’t worked since she kissed him. He had been too afraid to see her. His shift had started hours ago, but he hadn’t seen her. Which was a bit relieving, since he wasn’t sure what he’d say. But he had been thinking about it all day. He would say that he was sorry, that he had just been surprised, and… then what? Ask for another chance?  
She had gone into the break room fifteen minutes ago and hadn’t come out. No one else had gone in. he had been working up his courage to go in there. At least he could apologize. He took a deep breath and opened the door.  
Terezi was sitting on Dave’s lap. There were two 3DS systems thrown on the couch, paused in the middle of some sort of fight game. The two people were staring at Karkat. But he had seen them kissing.  
“Sorry,” he mumbled, and went back to work. He closed the door behind him. He went to the bean room and continued on with his shift.

Tavros was alone in the coffee shop that day. Some days it was just nice to stay there, and they had great pastries. He and Gamzee had a date later that day to see a movie, and he was looking forward to it. Gamzee was the best thing to happen to him. Vriska slammed his Italian soda down on the table, and he looked up from his book, startled.  
“Oh, uh, hey Vriska…” he looked down at the table, unwilling to meet her eyes.  
“Will that be all, sir?” she said with a glare at the empty seat beside him.  
“Um,” he swallowed nervously, “could you please stop being so aggressive towards me? It’s… not nice.”  
“Me? Aggressive? No, I don’t think I’m being aggressive at all.”  
A hand appeared on her shoulder. “Vriska,” Kanaya said, “let it go. Leave Tavros alone.”  
“Yeah, whatever.” Vriska jerked out of Kanaya’s grasp and went back to work.  
“Thanks Kanaya…” Tavros looked up apologetically.  
“No problem. I don’t know why she got hired…”

Karkat had seen the movies. He’d read the books. And he’d lost the girl.  
“I am so STUPID.”  
Gamzee was out on a date, so Karkat was left alone to stew in his misery. And stew he did. He couldn’t get the image out of his head. How long had they been seeing each other? Were they actually dating?


	3. Everything Was Broken

Forever after, Gamzee would remember it in slow motion. Tavros was leaving the café to go to a follow-up interview. He was in line for an internship for a toy company. He was so happy. But he didn’t see. And Vriska came around the corner too fast. Gamzee ran out after him as fast as he could. Vriska slammed on the brakes. Tavros turned around. And there was that awful crunch.

Tavros’s legs were gone. The bones were shattered in so many places. The doctors wanted to amputate, for fear that the bone shards would cause internal bleeding. But his father wouldn’t hear of it. They went overseas to try and find a way to fix his legs. Gamzee fought back the doctors and nurses that tried to tell him only family was allowed in the urgent care sector. He fought his way to Tavros’s bedside, surprising the security personnel with his strength. Only when the noise woke Tavros and he refused to be quiet until they let him in did they allow Gamzee to come in.  
“I’m sorry man. I’m so so sorry.” Gamzee made no effort to hold back his tears.  
“No, I’m sorry,” Tavros said with a loving smile. “I should have looked.” He turned away from his boyfriend. “They’re, uh, taking me to Europe. They might be able to help my legs.”  
“What?” Gamzee looked up in surprise. “But… there are places here…”  
“They’re too expensive for my family. And, uh…I won’t be able to call you. Our service provider is local. So…” Tavros had been trying. He had tried so hard to smile for Gamzee, but now he couldn’t hold back the tears. They had given him painkillers, but it still hurt. And now, seeing Gamzee staring at him with such pain in his eyes, the thought of leaving him behind was killing him. “But,” he blubbered, “Maybe… I can download that app… so I can text you if I get an internet connection…”  
“Yeah bro,” Gamzee said, leaning over for a hug.  
They held each other until the nurse came to give Tavros more pain killers.

“Hey, um, Terezi.” She turned around to face Karkat. He was looking at the ground, looking grumpy as usual. “Could you, um, check up on Gamzee? I haven’t seen or heard from him for a week, since Tavros left without being able to say goodbye. I’m worried, but I’m stuck with something today…”  
“Yeah, sure Karkat.” She waited for something else, anything, but he just turned around and went back to the coffee machine.

When Terezi pulled up to Gamzee’s house, she was relieved to see that his father’s car was not there. She knocked on the door.  
“Gamzee? Heeeeey?”  
“Just come in.”  
It was dark inside. And something crunched under her feet as she walked in. she looked down and saw the remains of a needle.   
“Oh no. Gamzee, oh no.”  
“You know what man? I don’t ask my dad for much.” Terezi stepped farther into the house, into the living room. “But this was something important. I wanted Tavros to be able to stay close to me. I would’ve followed him, been there for him.” She had never been there before. But the room was trashed. Beanbags were just thrown around, with empty pie tins and soda bottles, and suspicious plastic bags. And Gamzee sat there in the middle of it, bruises apparent on his skin. “But dad doesn’t want me to waste money on other people. Oh, no. No big purchases. He’ll put money in my account each month, but I don’t get any advances, apparently.” He looked up at Terezi, some sort of clown makeup smeared on his face, a fake smile drawn on. “I shoud’ve saved up. Never know, right? But you know what? You know what my FUCKING MONEY can buy?” he swept his arms outward and looked around the room. “Drugs. Drugs, Terezi. And you know what? It takes the edge off.”  
“Oh, Gamzee, no, just…”  
“C’mere.” He gestured for her to come over and sit on the bean bag next to him. “How about you? How did things go with Karkat?”  
Terezi nervously sat. “It didn’t go so great. I don’t think he’s actually interested. I’ve been seeing Dave for a while… but now Karkat ignores me. And I hate this. Kanaya gives me worried glances, and Vriska hasn’t come in to work for a week.” Gamzee’s glance hardened at the sound of Vriska’s name. “I’m pulling more than my weight at the shop with all this.”  
“Well bro,” Gamzee handed her one of the mysterious plastic bags, “Sounds like you need something to take the edge off too.”  
“No, this isn’t right.” But her protest was feeble. She felt all this pressure, and the only time she could relax was on her dates with Dave, but even then she worried about her inescapable responsibilities. Could this really give some relief?

It was such a strange feeling. Her vision was distorted and it felt like half of her body was numb, but she wasn’t sure which half…  
“Terezi, you know what? I’m lonely. I miss Tavros.” He rested his head on her chest. “I purposefully bought hallucinogens. If I can hallucinate, why can’t I see him?” His body shook as tears flowed down his face. “Why can’t I even pretend to see him?!” his hand clenched on her shirt, and she held him.  
His hand unclenched. It moved up her side, and stroked her face. He sat up, and kissed her. And she let him.

“Look Terezi, I’m not okay with this!” Dave said, torn between concern and anger.  
“Look, we didn’t really do—“  
“No, I mean the drugs—well I’m not okay with the cheating either but—Terezi! Why?!”  
“Just, there was always so much pressure… and I like being with you, I do! Its just… I was confused, the drugs…” he stepped forward and gave her a hug.  
“It’s alright. Just… don’t see him again.”  
“But Dave, I have to go back, someone needs to talk to him…”  
“No. someone else can go back. If you go back, I’m going to take that as you not wanting to be with me anymore.” He held her tighter. “Pass the job to Karkat or Kanaya. They’re good at that, right? Hell, maybe they should team up.” His tone of voice stayed soft, comforting. Inside, he was fighting to keep his cool exterior. How could he trust her again? And with Gamzee, of all people. Gamzee, who doted on Tavros as if they were already married. Who was always pretty chill, and never seemed like he would hurt a fly. And Terezi, who just liked to have fun and make sure everyone got what they deserved, good or bad. Who didn’t seem to have any problems. What were they all coming to?

“Terezi,” Dave called out. They were the only two left in the shop that day. It was long closed, but he had asked her to meet him there.  
She walked over guiltily. She knew what was coming, and had already braced for it. “How’d you find out?”  
“Jade lives in the same neighborhood, and mentioned it to me. You know, I had actually forgotten she lived there.”  
“So… goodbye?”  
“Nah, not really. We’re still friends. And I still think that you should stop seeing him, since drugs aren’t cool. Get out while you can.”  
She nodded and left. Dave pulled out his phone and prepared a text message.

Karkat. You know what’s been going on with Terezi and Gamzee right? I dunno how bad it is yet, but you know them both best.

He clicked the send button. He could try all he liked, but the real commitment had to come from Terezi.

“Gamzee, we should really get rid of all this stuff.” Terezi walked into the room, her jacket hood flipped over her face.  
“You say the same thing half the time you come here,” Gamzee replied, tossing an unopened bag halfway across the room to land at her feet.  
She walked past it and sat down next to him on a beanbag. “This isn’t healthy, for either of us. Totally uncool.” She stayed silent for a minute. “Dave broke up with me because of this.”  
“Oh, so that’s why you came over here so late. Misery loves some fuckin company.” He flipped her hood back to find that her mascara was running down her cheeks. “Hey, look in a fucking mirror. We match!” He pointed to his own clown makeup, his painted grin large and as fake as it could be. Terezi broke into uncontrolled sobs. “Now now, shhh…” He moved to share her beanbag and held her close. “Nothing will be alright, ever, so no need to cry.” He handed her a drink.  
Terezi tried to control her breathing and downed the liquid, almost choking in surprise. “Wh-what is this?”  
“Faygo and vodka. Drink up.”  
“It’s disgusting…” but she drank it despite her mumbled complaints.  
Hours later, Terezi woke up in… where was she? Her bedroom? She was definitely in a bed. The last thing she remembered was breaking dishes in the kitchen with Gamzee… and drinking lots of alcohol mixed with the crappy soda… Terezi got up. Her pants were gone. Gamzee sat up in the bed she had just vacated, and took a swig from a cup on the bed. He groaned and fell back into the bed.  
Terezi looked around the room, wide-eyed and frightened. Gamzee’s room. She was in Gamzee’s room. She had gotten drunk, and had a blackout, and woken up in her friend’s room without any pants on… she slapped her hand over her mouth and ran into the bathroom, where she vomited into the toilet. She had a headache, and her arm hurt, but her throat and stomach were tied in knots. What had she done..?


	4. The Three Ring Circus

“DAVE! NO BREAKS! PLEASE, TRY TO MAKE IT UNTIL VRISKA SHOWS UP. For once she didn’t call in sick…” Karkat ran from the employee break room to where Kanaya was rushing to the order counter, a tray held under her arm. “Kanaya, you holding up alright?”  
“Yes, but it really is amazing how the busiest days are always the ones where half our staff chooses not to be present.”  
“Dave should be out soon, and I called Nepeta, Jane, and Jade for backup. How are we on pastries?”  
“We should be fine as long as Jane can get here. I could start restocking if we had an extra cashier or waitress…”  
“Alright, good. Where are the coffee orders?”  
“There,” she pointed to a stack of store-copy receipts. “I have to get to the line, just hurry. We’ll have to call out orders today.”  
Karkat grabbed the order at the bottom of the stack and went to work at the coffee machines. As soon as one drink was begun, he would prepare for the next, moving constantly but expertly. Dave came out to hand out the orders and after an hour they were back to normal, caught up on all the orders and off of red alert as Jane and Nepeta showed up to help.  
“I gave her a chance, but I think Vriska’s given up working here,” Karkat said as he fell into the break room couch. As it had slowed down, he and Dave were both catching their breath. “I mean, it’s been a couple weeks since she ran Tavros over and that’s a bit much since she didn’t get hurt, and now she doesn’t even bother calling in sick.”  
“Yeah. We should bring it up with Terezi.”  
They both fell silent.  
“Dave, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I mean, I know I’m gonna try and talk her out of all this, but I don’t know why she would listen to me. She hasn’t spoken to me in weeks.”  
“Dude, you’ve been avoiding her. You can’t shift the blame like that.”  
Karkat glanced down sullenly. “It’s just… this is all my fault, and I know it. It’s my fault I alienated her, my fault she got involved with Gamzee, and my fault that Tavros got hurt.”  
“Wait, what? How is Tavros your fault?”  
“Just… I got Vriska the job, even though I knew she had a grudge against Tavros and he was a regular.”  
“That’s not your fault. Just bad luck.”  
“And I’m an IDIOT and I should’ve kissed Terezi.”  
“I don’t think it’s too late for that.”

“Thank you furrr your patronage!” Nepeta smiled sweetly at the customer. “What’s up Karkat?”  
“Thanks for coming in last-minute. Everything going okay here?”  
“Purr-fect!” Nepeta grinned. “And it’s okay, I was just talking with Equius about something. He called me over for some special news, but we got side tracked roleplaying and talking about feelings!”  
“Uh-huh. I don’t really understand how you two get along at all.”  
“Something tells me you are also in need of a talk about feelings.”  
“Don’t you have a job to do?”  
Nepeta made a sad face. “If you don’t express your feelings, it’ll all bottled up and not good. Just tell me Karkitty-“ she slapped her hands over her mouth and turned red.  
“YOU! YOU’RE WHERE THAT CAME FROM!”

It had been a long time since Karkat had gone to Terezi’s house. At least a year. He was nervous. Dave had assured him that she still lived here, but he was internally shaking when he knocked on the door.  
“Hello… Karkat!” Ms. Pyrope smiled at him as she let the door swing open fully. “It’s been a while! Are you here to see Terezi?”  
“YES—yes ma’am.”  
“I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Come in.” her friendly demeanor was still there, but Karkat could tell there was something else beneath the surface.  
She sat him down on the couch, but didn’t sit herself. She walked directly in front of him, leaned over, and hissed, “who has been giving my daughter illegal drugs?”  
Karkat blanched. He had forgotten how terrifying this woman could be. “I’ve come to talk to her about it,” he managed to say.  
She backed off and paced the floor. “I know she’s an adult, and she hasn’t brought anything home that I can track…” She spun to face him. “but so help me if it’s you that’s been giving her these…”  
“NO!” he yelled and jumped up. He looked sheepishly at the ground, not having meant to be so loud. “But I think I can help her.” and he turned and let his feet lead him to the door he remembered. There were still stickers all over the door. He knocked.  
“Terezi?”  
No answer. He tried the door but it was shut.  
“TEREZI.”  
“Go away…” the reply was feeble.  
“OPEN THIS DOOR OR I’LL KICK IT DOWN.”  
There was a soft click, but the door didn’t open. He turned the knob and threw the door back, and stormed up to his friend, his friend that he had seen spiral down, cut herself off from all her friends, his friend that he had had a crush on for as far back as he could remember… she had been in the middle of the room but backed off as he stomped into her room.  
“Terezi.” She flinched and looked down. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her pupils were ragged. He resisted the urge to pull her into a hug. “Terezi. We’re all worried about you.” No response. “We-I am really really…” she looked up a bit. His face flushed. “I’M SORRY I DIDN’T KISS YOU!”  
What had just happened? He had been here to talk to her about her problem with Gamzee, convince her to seek help if she needed it or offer companionship. This was not why he was here. What was going on? Well, she was kissing him again. He knew he had to get control of himself. And he finally kissed her back.

Karkat had left Terezi crying into her mom’s shoulder and promising to meet him for dinner. He pulled up just as another car was pulling out, and they almost collided. In a moment of stark horror, he saw Gamzee’s dad for the first time. He was huge, muscled, dressed in a black business suit. Something about the hardness of his face sent shivers down Karkat’s spine. The honk jarred him to his senses, and Karkat pulled aside so that he could get out. He sat there on the side of the road for a few seconds before he realized. Gamzee was inside. And Karkat knew for a fact that however long his father had been there, Gamzee hadn’t gone to stay with anyone else. Karkat jumped out of the car and ran to the doors of the huge house. The door was unlocked and he rushed in. the foyer was large, and empty. But he saw a few drops of blood on the floor and his stomach turned. He walked slowly and shakily further into the house. The foyer connected to the living room, which was connected to the kitchen, where Gamzee was sitting with his face out of view, nestled in his crossed arms. What was visible of his arms were red and bruised.  
Karkat walked up carefully. “Gamzee? Dude, you okay?”  
Karkat jumped back as Gamzee sat up suddenly. His eyes were red and his face was contorted and angry. There was no face paint. “I’M NOT FUCKING OKAY!”  
“WELL THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO YOUR FUCKING FRIENDS!”  
“You see this?” he held up the top half of a broken bottle. “THIS IS MY FRIEND AND WE’RE HAVING A FUCKING RIGHTEOUS CONVERSATION.” As his friend’s arm moved, Karkat could see the pool of blood on the counter. He reached into his pocket and dialed 911 on his cell phone, for once grateful that he had never upgraded to a touchscreen. Gamzee got up and sauntered towards him. “Karkat. Do you know, man? Do you know what it’s like to be kicked when you’re DOWN?”  
Karkat stepped up to his friend, refusing to back down. “YEAH. I DO.” And with that, he embraced the bleeding, bruised mess. “I’m sorry that all this had to happen to you.” Gamzee tensed up and pulled back a bit, raising the broken bottle. Karkat held him tighter. “Equius got a call from Rufioh. About Tavros.” The bottle dropped, and glass shattered. Some pieces hit Karkat’s exposed hands, and he couldn’t tell if it had cut through his clothes. He heard the sounds of an ambulance in the background. “You know Equius’s brother? Horse-something? He went abroad to study mechanical prosthetics. Tavros ended up at the hospital where he’s studying.” Something wet dripped onto Karkat’s face. Gamzee was crying. The paramedics burst into the house.


	5. Happy Endings and Hospitals

After he had made sure Gamzee was safely and calmly at the hospital, Karkat had picked Terezi up from her house, and she had been silent the whole car ride, until they arrived at Black Daisy. They walked in and Terezi was properly surprised by the fact that everyone had shown up, even Rose, who excused her from her prolonged absences from work. Jane had baked Terezi a welcome-back cake, and Dave had brought Doritos and creamsicles. Kanaya brought a veggie and fruit tray, which ended up being largely ignored as the night went on with music and laughter.  
“You alright now?” Dave walked up next to Terezi while Karkat and Equius were halfheartedly playing some game with Nepeta, arguing loudly about who was doing what and whether or not Karkat was in charge.  
Terezi looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah. I mean, I think. My mom wants me to go to the hospital tomorrow just in case.” She looked down. “Karkat’s gonna drive me.”  
Dave embraced her. “Good. I’m happy for you.”  
And she knew he meant it.  
When Vriska walked in, the place went quiet. She looked around at them once, and blushed. Latula, Terezi’s older sister, barged in after, pulling along someone no one really recognized.  
“Hey!!!! Heard there was a party!!! I missed you Terezi!!!” Latula pulled her sister into a hug. “We can’t stay for long, we’re heading out to turn in some scholarship applications!!!! Well, me and Meenah here.” She nudged her friend good naturedly, who gave a cocky smile and waved. “Vriska just—“  
Latula was cut off as Vriska, looking at the ground, stepped before them all. “I’m sorry.” She glanced up briefly, looking through their faces for Gamzee, but as soon as she realized he wasn’t there she turned and left. Meenah followed right after.  
“Sooooo, Vriska has a new furrrrr~iend?” Called Nepeta from the table, breaking the silence. The party noise slowly started back up, and after a few pieces of cake Latula left.

Terezi hated the chemical smell of hospitals. She squeezed Karkats hand as they walked through the halls. Everything was white. Colorless. She used to think that made it seem like a dead place. But maybe it was a blank slate. A fresh start. They knocked on the door and walked into Gamzee’s hospital room.  
The bruises were more evident than ever in his flimsy hospital gown. Terezi could see they went all over his body, and her breath caught. She did her best to avoid looking at the scars on his arms. He was hooked up to some liquid or another, and Terezi flashed back to the dark rooms of his house and the very different chemicals that they…   
“Look what the fucking cat dragged in.” Gamzee turned towards them but didn’t sit up. But his face was clean of paint and smiling, despite his split lip and swollen cheek. “How have you dudes been? You’re holding each other’s hands so that sounds like some miraculous shit went down while I was here.”  
“Yeah.” Terezi released Karkat’s hand and went to sit by her friend. “You feeling alright?”  
“I’m cool. They loaded me up with some crazy shit that wasn’t even illegal, so I’m feeling hella chill.”  
Karkat pulled a laptop out of his backpack, and logged onto the hospital’s wifi. He pulled up pesterchum and placed it on the tray that sat on top of the hospital bed.  
“Who you gonna call bro? Theres a table over there, but it’s cool if you wanna use mine.” Gamzee’s eyes widened as Rufioh appeared on the screen and waved. “No man, not cool. I’m not even… my face…” Karkat and Terezi each took one of his hands.  
And Tavros appeared on screen. He was in a hospital too, in a matching hospital gown. His hesitant smile quickly dropped, replaced by deep concern. “Uh… your face is colorful. I mean, in a bad way? Not that you look bad!”  
“Nah, it’s all cool man. I’m down with being a rainbow.”  
“The nurses said he’s on some heavy shit,” Karkat explained. Tavros laughed nervously.  
“I could kiss a rainbow. Uh, I mean, it’s cool. That you’re cool. With being a rainbow. Or whatever.”  
Gamzee laughed.


End file.
